Marianne Clark

Marianne was born on July 10, 1951 in Uden, North Brabant, The Netherlands to Theodorus Koster and Annie Koelen. She was the oldest of four children. She is survived by her sisters Els (Tom) Strickland of Conway, Arkansas and Thea (Ruud) Rijnberg of Bergen op Zoom, North Brabant, The Netherlands, and her brother Ton (Fieke) of Uden, North Brabant, The Netherlands.

Also surviving are her husband Bob Clark; her daughter, Audrey (Phil) Natale; her two beloved grandchildren, Benjamin and Elie; and many, many in-laws, cousins, nephews, and nieces scattered across the United States, Canada, and The Netherlands. She was preceded in death by her son, Ben, an event which changed her life forever.

Marianne had polio as a young girl, which left her with a distinctive gait, but she never allowed that to diminish her love of physical activity. Her shorter leg made her easy to spot on the ski slopes as her asymmetric turns left her on the left side of every run. She was an avid bicyclist and served several years as a bicycle trail ambassador for the City of Westminster. She enjoyed step aerobics and cycling classes and took up boxing in an attempt to keep her PD at bay.

She was an avid fan of the Colorado Buffs and Colorado State Rams football teams and even followed the Arkansas Razorbacks out of loyalty to her sister’s family. Marianne would don her orange jersey for Denver Broncos game days, and more importantly for her beloved Dutch National soccer team. She went from listening to the World Cup on short wave radio in 1974 to watching every second of the games live on television in 2022.

Marianne’s professional career began as a secretary to the Mars family at the M & M Mars factory in Veghel, near her hometown. A portion of her duties involved finding airline flights for cocoa buyers to exotic locations around the world, which led to an early (and unfulfilled) ambition to be a flight attendant.

She met her future husband, Bob, on a Dutch Air Force base at a New Year’s Eve party at the end of 1970 but didn’t begin to date him until August 1972. They were married on February 28, 1973. She died just over a month short of their 53rd wedding anniversary.

After her husband left the Air Force and returned with Marianne to his native Colorado, Marianne used her previous work experience to bluff her way into a job as a travel agent in Boulder, Colorado. She ultimately would manage an office on College Hill in Boulder before leaving for a small agency in Broomfield. She wound up buying that agency and had a distinguished career as one of the most respected corporate travel agents in Colorado, with a client list that included politicians, mining executives, and professional golfers.

Her passions for skiing, cycling, swimming and hiking were only surpassed by her interest in other people. She had a way of listening to people that led to long conversations and deep relationships. Her skill at matchmaking was second to none.

There will be a celebration of Marianne’s life on February 28 at 1:00 at:

Westminster City Park Recreation Center

10455 Sheridan Boulevard

Westminster CO

In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift in Marianne’s name to:

Parkinson Association of the Rockies

1325 S Colorado Blvd., Suite 204B

Denver, CO 80222